FFRF debuts Solstice display in N.H. capital

December 14, 2018

FFRF member Jack Shields debuted a freethinking holiday display in New Hampshire’s capital this week.

The display, set up outside the capitol building in Concord, is FFRF's 6-foot-tall whimsical Bill of Rights "nativity." The irreverent graphic by artist Jacob Fortin depicts Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington kneeling in adoration before a "baby" Bill of Rights in a manger.

The tongue-in-cheek nativity reads:

At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.There is only our natural world.Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

The display is located adjacent to the city’s nativity scene near the arch on City Plaza.

"We'd much prefer that our seat of government be free from religion — and irreligion," FFRF Co-President Barker says. “But if a devotional nativity display is allowed, there must be 'room at the inn' for all points of view, including irreverence and freethought."

The display will be up through the end of the month.

FFRF is a national nonprofit organization with more than 31,000 members across the country, including members in New Hampshire. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.